Order processing occurs in a very wide variety of settings. In some settings, the orders are for goods or services, for example, consumer goods that are to be prepared and delivered quickly after the orders are placed.
In restaurants serving what is sometimes referred to as “fast food”, customers line up at one or more queues at a front counter and place orders for food items. Such restaurants are also sometimes referred to as “quick-serve” restaurants. The customers wait nearby until the orders are processed and delivered at the front counter. Customers then walk to tables with their delivered orders. In this scenario, workers at the restaurant's front counter enter the customer orders into registers, assemble the orders (from food items that are made in response to the orders or are prepared in advance), and deliver the orders. Food items include entrees, appetizers, beverages, and desserts, for example, and any other edible items, whether prepared to order or prepared in advance.
In general, quick-serve restaurants are distinguished from other types of restaurants by the short time interval between when a customer places an order and when the customer receives the order. In some cases this period could be as long as five or ten minutes or as short as 10 or 15 seconds.
Quick-serve restaurants also often have drive-through service that enables customers to place orders at an order point and pick up orders at a delivery point while remaining in an automobile. To reduce the delay during busy periods, multiple drive-through service lanes can be provided.
Order processing for some kinds of goods and services, for example, clothing or electronic products, is done using telephone call centers.